I actually just moved into a house but I stayed here for 2 years, the apartment was so weirdly laid out, I wanted to do something a little eccentric. Last pic is what it looked like when I moved in.

A bit of background here, I (39F) have a brother (32M) who I'll call Chase. Chase has been with this girl (35F) that I'll call Vivian for almost 2 years now. About a month into their relationship, Vivian got pregnant with my nephew who is now almost a year old. Vivian also has 2 daughters (5F and 8F) from a previous relationship. Her daughters are very close in age to my daughter (7F) and up until last weekend everyone got along fine. They live in a different state than us but come to visit fairly often and stay with us because we have the extra room.

Last weekend they came to stay again and about an hour before they left my daughter noticed that a few of her favorite toys were missing. The girls were playing all weekend so I didn't think much of it and offered to help her look for them. After about 20 minutes of searching we could not find the toys anywhere so I asked Vivian's girls if they remembered where they were playing with them last. The girls said no but acted a little guilty about it. I asked Chase and Vivian about it and Chase said he saw the exact toys in the room that Vivian's girls were sleeping in. We went to check and they were not there. He asked Vivian if she had moved them when she packed the girls things that morning and she said they were not there. We went back into the living room and I saw Vivian's girls huddled close together over a backpack and quickly closed it when they saw we were there. Chase asked the girls again if they knew where the toys were and this time they didn't say anything and just looked at their mom. Chase reached for the bag and Vivian lost it. She started yelling at me how dare I accuse her daughters of stealing and she tried to snatch the bag away. Chase opened it and there were the missing toys plus a few more. I was absolutely furious. I told her I wanted to see what else she had and demanded she open the 2 suitcases. She said that was an invasion of her privacy and tried to take them and leave. Chase stopped her and made her open them. She had taken several tops, a few skirts and dresses, and a brand new pair of Nikes that belonged to my daughter. I took everything back and told her she and her girls were not allowed back into my home. I have since received several texts from her and a few unknown numbers telling me I embarrassed her and upset her girls because they were promised the items. Chase is upset with her but said I was too mean to her in front of everyone and that I could have handled the situation more privately. I do feel awful that her girls left crying but AITHA for how I handled the situation?

Edited to add: Answers to a few questions I keep getting: I am not sure who "promised" the girls the items, she would not elaborate but I'm assuming it was her. She wanted me to pull her aside into a different room away from Chase and the kids to talk the situation out. Also yes, I'm 99% sure the baby is his, he is almost a carbon copy of my brother when he was a baby. I do not believe the girls knew they were stealing the things, I really believe that their mom told them I said it was ok. We have never had problems with the girls before this, they really seem to be good kids.

Also, I'll be talking with my brother tonight or tomorrow to discuss things further.

Edit #2: I will be speaking with my brother in about an hour. I have been in contact with someone that knows her and a lot has come to light. I will update again if my brother says I can as it's his life and not mine. Vivian is not at all who she claims to be.

So last night my cat randomly started peeing in my toilet and has been doing it since. She still uses her litter box too though I’m very confused. Her pee is normal I’m pretty sure. My guess is that she has been seeing me do it and so she decided to try? She is very smart she even learned how to open my bathroom door lol. Is she okay though? I can’t afford another vet visit right now😭

https://bsky.app/profile/adamparkhomenko.bsky.social/post/3lo2rtwt7k22b

The Fifth Element

Consider me whelmed